00:06I don't believe it's possible to live well without eating well now of course
00:11this means different things on different days but whatever the day I want food
00:17that makes me feel good not just when I'm eating it but when I'm cooking it
00:22too that's a big heap of gorgeousness there
00:26simply nigella is about dishes that do just that recipes that relax and restore
00:34uplift and enrich and that's perfect food I've enjoyed with family and friends
00:43amazing as I've settled into my new kitchen and where I am in my life right now come with me
00:51if
00:51you will to the dark side and I mean dark I believe with all my heart that what and how
00:58we cook can make us feel better and more alive absolutely delicious and for me a meal however
01:07simple is a celebration of life and life is there to be celebrated
01:13so
01:41I think
01:44I think little rituals are so important in life and a special one of mine is a weekly
01:50jaunt to a favourite shop where I pick up one or two things but always a particular loaf of
01:57bread that forms the basis of a breakfast I eat more than any other this loaf has a name I
02:06love
02:06saying dinkel brought in other words German spelt bread its nuttiness and heft makes it the perfect
02:14partner for the delicate smooth flesh of avocado
02:20I'm fully aware that avocado toast isn't a recipe but it's part of the fabric of my life I'm ready
02:27to eat it no matter what the time of day but I have to say it comes in particularly handy
02:33for breakfast
02:33on those days when you fear that lunch may be later than you'd like I like
02:41Hass avocados not least because it's easiest with these to tell whether they're ripe or not because
02:47the dark green skin sort of crocodile skin there's a purple black this is one of my favourite bits the
02:56sound I get when I scrape that last bit of avocado I love that buttery green flesh in the inside
03:08and that
03:08slightly brighter green by the skin
03:14if I'm eating this at supper I like the heady aniseed flavour of coriander but at other times of day
03:21I like its more
03:23delicate cousin dill I think part of the point of avocado is that smoothie rich blandness but I
03:31need salt with that just important for me I always have to have a squeeze of line I know it's
03:43breakfast but
03:44let's put a bit of fire in the engine some dried chili flakes and my latest development in avocado toast
03:55experimentation some ginger for extra pep this is my favoured method peeling ginger just for the tip of a
04:04teaspoon and a little sedentary grating
04:15don't mind me when I mash
04:23my toast of choice is ready and waiting I compile this on
04:39I'm all about the pink and green at the moment and I have some breakfast radishes to crown
04:45my avocado toast with just is never a bad thing to start the day with something so beautiful
04:59as much as I derive pleasure from the taste and beauty of food I want the entire process from
05:07inspiration to empty plate to make me happy oh perfect whether it's a spiced cauliflower and chickpea
05:16salad for one a fragrant cake to share
05:23or a messy lamb feast for my family and friends but above all I relish how the ideas for my
05:31recipes
05:32are so often a result of joyous encounters with people or places one of the things that has
05:39galvanized and inspired me in the kitchen recently it's a holiday I took to Thailand last year I've been
05:45looking forward to it so much and it didn't disappoint I wish I could say that my travel notebook was
05:52full of profound thoughts but that would be a lie all I did hmm was stare the sea in the
05:59sky and eat the
06:02markets there are so beautiful and so full of slightly different unfamiliar produce that just made me long to
06:10cook it's also where my fixation with pink and green started and it continues apace hmm I think the best
06:20that
06:20can be said about this photo is that it shows that happiness trumps good hair apart from the fact that
06:28this is a very bad photograph what this reminds me of is the wonderful noodle dishes I ate when I
06:35was there
06:36every day something a bit different but always so fresh and vibrant and full of flavor ah and this
06:44I ate something which was a noodle dish with cinnamon and prawns I know it sounds really really odd but
06:53it
06:53was extraordinary I've never eaten anything like it and I knew I couldn't leave Thailand without the recipe
07:03I've been alive a long time and when it comes to eating I spent that time wisely and well so
07:10it's not
07:10often I come across something that tastes so different to anything I've eaten before this is a stir-fry
07:18comforting and familiar warm with ginger and hot with garlic when I first ate this it was cooked by a
07:30chef
07:31called Tum spelt rather transliterated TUM very gratifying and he used Chinese celery which is really
07:39mostly thin stalk and a lot of leaf so what I do is I use what I think of as
07:46the shoots from a leafy stick of celery
07:50which I chop none too fastidiously be shocked to hear and what the celery gives is an anise flavor but
08:01with
08:01herbal freshness now comes the same but bringing base star anise and as if to amplify the star anise
08:13some cinnamon crumbled in shards I'm making a base for the prawns to cook in so on top of those
08:23spices
08:25dark soy sauce steady with this and on top of that some light soy sauce or thin this is called
08:35this
08:35Thai version with a fantastically fat child on it a small dollop of oyster sauce for richness and don't
08:50faint some ready ground pepper I never thought I'd see the day when I use school pepper in my cooking
08:57this really works that's some water chicken stock concentrate I never feel bad about using stock that
09:15isn't the homemade chef to amuse chicken powder and that's the nearest thing I can get to it and then
09:21some ketchup
09:22manis which is like sweet soy ketchup
09:32and into this bubbling brown liquid go the prawns wouldn't we all like to pop out to the local market
09:40to pick up some
09:41fresh plump prawns and then stroll back down the beach a large sun hat for me but if I didn't
09:48think
09:48these frozen prawns worked here I certainly wouldn't be cooking with them some of the sweetness of the
09:55prawns goes into this brown liquor and those deep spices cling to the prawns
10:04and in go some glass noodles cooked and drained
10:14stand back and I toss this together
10:18I've always thought of Thai cooking as sprightly and sharp
10:23but there's something about the darkness and depth of this which is exciting
10:31and now a startling punch of ground cloves and a pinch of ground cinnamon
10:42now obviously none of these ingredients is new but it's how they're used in a particular way that makes
10:50some taste so different and that is the essence of what cooking is
10:55this is Thai seafood as you've never tasted it
11:06a tawny tangle of noodles
11:13and these golden prawns
11:16I rather love the shards of cinnamon going through it
11:21obviously they're not to be eaten
11:26final touch
11:29the leaves
11:30from the shoots
11:31of celery
11:34a friend of mine's father said
11:36if it goes in it
11:37it's got to go on it
11:48I said at the beginning that a stir fry
11:51was comforting and familiar
11:53but what this is
11:55is comforting and unfamiliar
12:14I really wish I had a megaphone right now
12:18because my enthusiasm for lamb ribs is evangelical
12:22not only are they the least expensive way of eating lamb
12:26but the thing is they are the most luscious
12:35I can have the lamb ribs please
12:39lamb ribs are cut from the breast and I lived on breast of lamb when I was a student
12:44I used to braise them in one piece all the time
12:49now I go for the ribs which I roast with cumin seeds and nigella seeds and I can tell you
12:55it's the way forward
12:56thank you
12:59thank you
12:59thank you
13:05because I want to keep the flavour of the lamb ribs to the fore I'm not coating them in a
13:09sticky glaze
13:10because this is really about the marriage between spice and meat
13:14I start with nigella seeds
13:16I mean if you have a spice with the same name as you it's a bit rude not to use
13:21it
13:25their slight lemon scented pepperiness is boosted by the glorious pungency of cumin
13:31hard for me to have lamb without cumin
13:38the fat on the ribs means I need only a little oil just to help the spices stick to them
13:48to highlight the sweetness of the meat the saltiness of some soy sauce
13:55all I need now is some garlic quite a bit of garlic just mince them in
14:17so all I do is smooch the ribs in this scant mixture just so they're glossed
14:21with conker shiny liquid and freckled with spices
14:28because they're a fatty cut
14:30I roast them on a tin with a wire rack so all the excess fat drips down
14:35but still it's that fat which gives them all the flavour and that lip smacking stickiness
14:45you certainly need a lot of napkins when you eat these
14:53I was recently told that the literal translation of nigella seed in Arabic is seed of blessing
14:59which seems entirely right for any sort of meal
15:06I cook these in a low oven just till the meat is tender and the fat crisp
15:17with these I make my feta and avocado salad and I drape both avocado and feta in red onions which
15:26I am steeping in red wine vinegar
15:34and what this does is take out the acrid burn of the onion I can't eat raw onions any other
15:41way
15:42and by the time I'm ready to make the salad these strips will have turned a beautiful lambent piece
16:06inspiration for this salad comes from my sister Horatia who often serves chunks of feta sprinkled with nigella seeds
16:14call it family solidarity
16:19my version builds on this adding avocado
16:23the soft creaminess contrasts beautifully with the saltiness of the cheese
16:28a scattering of pomegranate seeds provides fruity tan
16:34and then those lucent strips of onion all together so prettily pink and green
16:42finally a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
16:46along with some warm flatbread this is all the accompaniment the lamb ribs need
16:50and I'm ready for my sister and her lot to descend
16:56here are ribs
16:58your favourite is she
17:00oh, divine
17:07Ella, that's for you
17:09you
17:09love me
17:12do you like it
17:13oh, these look fantastic
17:15how about some sweet
17:16and you'll just do mine
17:21I'm going to just dig in I'm afraid
17:23I'm going to just dig in I'm afraid
17:28oh, these are so good
17:33mmm
17:34I'm smearing nigella seeds all over my cheek but I feel I'm entitled
17:37you do are
17:53I always find baking both uplifting and calming
17:57my apricot and almond cake is no flamboyant creation with fancy decoration
18:03but that's precisely why I'm drawn to it
18:05as it cooks
18:07it wafts the fragrance of rose water and cardamom
18:10and fills the place with serenity inducing scent
18:17instead of soaking the apricots overnight in a bowl full of cold water
18:22I simmer them briefly in a scant amount of liquid and two cardamom husks
18:27and then I let them get cold which doesn't take long
18:30but this is more than a shortcut
18:31what it does is it plumps up the apricots and infuses them with cardamom at the same time
18:41these are for the top of the cake
18:43it's about as near to crafts as I get
18:48and you can probably see why
18:51the rest of the apricots
18:53the seeds from the cardamom pods
18:55and this scant amount of syrup
18:57go into the processor
19:03every last bit
19:07this is an apricot and almond cake
19:09and I use ground almonds
19:11200 grams of them instead of flour
19:14thus making this gluten free and dairy free inadvertently
19:18to add a bit of bite
19:21and glorious goldenness
19:2350 grams
19:25of fine polenta
19:26not instant
19:28and some sugar
19:30150 grams
19:33not too much sugar
19:35because there's a sweetness
19:36from the polenta and the ground almonds
19:38got a teaspoon of baking powder
19:44six eggs
19:49these help the cake
19:51to rise
19:55and lend moisture
20:01and now we blitz
20:14two teaspoons
20:16love that magic touch
20:20the thing about lemon
20:22is that it really
20:24brings out other flavours
20:26two teaspoons
20:30and a final fragrant addition
20:33some rose water
20:34the thing about rose water is
20:36a small amount
20:37and it's full of exotic promise
20:39and too much
20:40and it's your great aunt's bubble bath
20:42so one teaspoon only
20:47and then we blitz again
21:06this is a twenty centimetre spring form
21:08and I've lined it and greased the sides
21:10and I let the batter just flow in
21:18a few quick bursts of unchallenging activity
21:22and the batter
21:24is made
21:25and the oven takes care of the rest
21:32and now time for my modest artistic endeavour
21:39I'm encircling the cake with apricots
21:44this needs about forty minutes
21:47in a hundred and eighty degree oven
22:04once the oven's worked its magic
22:06and while the cake is still warm
22:09I glaze it with some apricot jam
22:11that's been made more spreadable
22:12by a spritz of lemon juice
22:16then to finish
22:17a scattering of finely chopped pistachios
22:23the gleaming goldenness of the cake
22:25the tender green of the pistachios
22:28make this a thing of simple beauty
22:55warm spice cauliflower and chickpea salad
22:58is one of my favourite simple suppers
23:01it relies on those two basic ingredients
23:05but transforms them
23:07I want the cauliflower in small florets
23:11or as small as the constraints of my patients will allow
23:20I can't take
23:22much credit for this transformation
23:24because it's all down
23:26to the warm spices
23:29and the heat of the oven
23:31it's just a bit of regular olive oil
23:34and now the spices
23:36just a little cinnamon to evoke
23:39the sweetness of a balmy night in Morocco
23:43I'm going to be a bit heavier handed with the cumin
23:46a spice that's irresistible to me
23:54I want to disperse the spices in the oil
23:57to stop them clumping in the oven later
24:03and now
24:05in these go
24:12the oil is just enough
24:14to help the spices stick to the cauliflower
24:17and to stop the cauliflower from drying out in the oven
24:23roast cauliflower is a glorious thing
24:28it doesn't hurt either
24:30there's very little washing up involved
24:37right this goes into a hot oven
24:39and I mean hot
24:41I don't need to wash this up
24:43I just add the cauliflower's partner in crime
24:47some chickpeas
24:49you can use canned chickpeas too
24:51but the ones in a jar
24:52are really lush
24:57to these
24:59I want
25:01the heat
25:02of harissa
25:04Moroccan chilli paste
25:08I'm dolloping in quite a lot
25:10because both the cauliflower and chickpeas
25:13can withstand a bit of fierceness
25:22I love the way the tomatoes almost ooze into a dressing in the heat of the oven
25:48the cauliflower has already lost its Victorian pallor and things are really going to brighten up for it now
25:56the cauliflower has already lost its Victorian pallor and things are really going to brighten up for it now
26:04I love having an implement in each hand
26:07makes me feel busy
26:10but in an unchallenging way
26:16and this goes back in just so the cauliflower cooks a little more
26:19the chickpeas are already cooked
26:21and the wonderful thing about the oven's heat
26:23is that the cauliflower will soften but it doesn't get soggy
26:45I'm grabbing a hefty amount of parsley
26:48because I don't want it as mere decoration
26:50but as the salad leaf itself
27:05I know there's quite a lot here not that it's stopped me before
27:10but this is fantastic cold as well
27:16packed lunch tomorrow
27:18packed lunch tomorrow
27:22salt
27:27and some gorgeous
27:31ruby jewels
27:32of pomegranate
27:38and a final flourish of parsley
27:43I find this sort of cooking
27:45just the perfect way to decompress
27:49and I am going to continue my relaxation program
27:53with this
27:54I'm going to let it all see
27:57and it's so low
27:58let's get here
27:58I am going to get here
27:59just on stage
27:59and I am going to get here
28:04the fish
28:04and the Luca
28:04just spoke to everyone
28:05and I am going to get here
28:16you can see a little bit
28:23got to be smooth I've been told that the literal translation in Arabic for
28:46my jealousy is seed of blessing maybe that's going too far
Comments